


Red-Hot Poker

by Krethes



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Coercion, Crushes, Hogwarts Fifth Year, I'm Bad At Summaries, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Not Beta Read, Pre-Relationship, Sirius Black is a Little Shit, Strip Poker, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:55:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29799120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Krethes/pseuds/Krethes
Summary: It's Sirius's sixteenth birthday and he wants to play strip poker. The Marauders oblige.OR: Nope that's basically it.
Relationships: Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 8
Kudos: 53





	Red-Hot Poker

**Author's Note:**

> References to my fic “The Fight”.   
> I believe Peter wasn't always a bad guy or they wouldn't have kept him around. 
> 
> This was inspired by the Wolfstar Discord, special thanks to two very special members for helping my brain attach to this idea~ This also went a much different direction than I intended, but I am pleased.
> 
> Please excuse any duplicated or missed clothing items; seven bodies is a lot to keep track of :P

One would think November 3, 1975 was a national holiday by the scale of things. Although it was a Monday, that had not stopped the Moste Magical and Magnificent Marauders from carrying on like it was the summer holidays and celebrating the turning of sixteen by one Sirius Orion Black III.

Remus had wondered, halfway through the day when every single portrait in the castle crooned the “happy birthday” song at Sirius as they walked by, how they were going to top it next year, when it really mattered, but found that he couldn’t really _care_. Sirius was over the moon and lived for the random well-wishes from students they didn’t even know when they passed between classes. 

Even McGonagall’s threat to “keep it a small, private affair, please for the love of Merlin,” in regards to the party she knew was coming that night didn’t have its usual bite. Remus supposed she was cutting Sirius some slack after the terrible summer he’d had, and Remus, who still felt _enormously_ guilty about their Big Fight a month prior, was in no position to try to moderate James’s preparations, Prefect or not.

Dinner saw every single table covered in Gryffindor scarlet-and-gold and every goblet emblazoned with “Happy Birthday, Sirius!!!”. Remus and Peter had tried to riddle out how to charm party hats with Sirius’s initials onto every diner, but a) Sirius’s initials were “SOB” and while Remus and Peter had privately laughed over that and found it _endlessly_ hilarious, that just would not do for the Birthday Boy and b) Flitwick caught them whispering about it during Charms and refused to give them the advice they so desperately needed. 

Nevertheless, Sirius was pleased. He strode into the Great Hall like he was the King of the World and gave a flourishing bow to Dumbledore who applauded him good-naturedly before he was seated. James had transfigured his section of the bench to be a king’s throne, which Remus was actually very impressed by, complete with inlaid rubies (which once had been apples, apparently) and a lion’s head that roared every time Sirius wanted someone’s attention. 

It was how Remus found himself being roared at as he desperately tried to shovel as much food into his stomach as possible. He knew their dessert was going to be entirely liquid and he needed to line his belly first or suffer the same consequences as their last do, James’s birthday, where he’d spent the entire second half of the night longing for death curled around the toilet. 

He tried to ignore the roaring as he loaded up his plate for the third time with pork chops and buttery rolls, but it kept increasing in volume until finally, Remus’s eyes snapped up to meet Sirius’s, gray and haughty. “Ahem,” Sirius said, clearing his throat pointedly. “As I was _saying_ , Mister Moony… we’re going to play a new game at my party.”

“Surely you’re not _actually_ having a party, Black,” came Lily’s incredulous plea from Remus’s left. Her eyebrows were shot clear into her fringe bangs and her lips were pulled into a scowl. “It’s a Monday.”

James cut Sirius off before he could say something properly foul, smiling in his winning way. “Oh c’mon, Evans, it’s his birthday. You know the rules! It’s not his fault it’s on a Monday! Would you expect the sun to stop shining just because it’s cloudy out?”

“Did you honestly just compare Sirius Black to the sun?” Lily retorted drily.

“He’s not wrong!” Sirius finally chirped in, unable to keep quiet. “I am the Light of his Life after all!” He flung an arm around James’s shoulders and James nodded adamantly, mouthing ‘birthday!!’ to Lily in earnest.

Remus stifled a laugh into his roll. Ridiculous.

“Anyway!” Sirius interjected again, the lion roaring mightily to recapture Remus’s attention. “A new game. It’s a _Muggle_ game,” he said, clearly trying to entice Lily’s and Remus’s interest. 

“If it’s spin-the-bottle again, I am out. I ended up stuck in the closet with Peter for seven minutes of uncomfortable humidity,” James interrupted with a sour face. Peter, blushing, nodded his agreement. 

“Pah! That’s kid stuff,” Sirius insisted, flapping his hand. “Adults play this game and you know, in some cultures, turning sixteen is a rite of passage.”

“Not our culture,” Marlene McKinnon half-shouted two seats down from Lily.

“It’s _my_ birthday and I am king and so mote it be and all that!” Sirius cried, clearly growing impatient with all of their insubordination. 

Remus smiled into his glass of apple juice and wiped his mouth neatly with his napkin. “Alright then, what’s the game?” He’d play along. It was Sirius’s birthday, after all. 

“Not here,” Sirius’s voice dropped to a conspiratory whisper. “Too many ears…” 

“Then why bring it up in the first place, Black?” Lily chided, though it was clear she was hooked, too. 

Sirius merely grinned and took a large bite of the pork chop in front of him and remained uncharacteristically quiet for the rest of dinner.

When they returned to the Common Room, it was splendidly decorated with streamers and confetti and desserts piled a mile high on teetering tables. There were two chocolate fountains and no fewer than four punch bowls, two of which Remus was positive were not simply punch. His conviction of this fact solidified when two second years tried to approach one of the tables and ran into an invisible wall. An age barrier. Ah, yes. Underage drinking was fine, as long as it wasn’t _too_ underage, apparently. Sirius’s record player had been brought down and the sounds of ‘The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust’ greeted them.

Sirius bounded in and the party began. Remus made the acquaintance of the nearest chocolate fountain, Peter at his heels. "I think I'm in love, Pete," he practically moaned around a generously-coated marshmallow, his fingers already inching towards a second. 

"Who's the lucky lady, then, Remus?" Mary MacDonald asked, sidling up next to him. Her hip bumped his, or rather bumped his thigh (he was so very tall, nearly six feet at fifteen was no small or painless feat) and Remus startled at the sudden contact. Mary took it for shyness and pressed a little closer, pressing her chest against his arm as she leaned to take a strawberry for dipping. "Go on, then," she encouraged coyly.

Remus stuffed his mouth with the second marshmallow in an attempt to avoid answering. _He_ knew he was gay, but no one else did or needed to know. It wasn't just something you could _tell_ people. He gave Peter a panicked look over Mary's head and Peter, blessed Peter, "stumbled" into Mary and splashed chocolate across her top.

"Peter!!" She shrieked and Peter went pink, spluttering apologies and promises to buy her a new one if he couldn't fix it. Mary just stormed off in a huff to change clothes.

"Pete, you're amazing," Remus said, honestly.

The smaller teen smiled and scratched his nose, blue eyes bright. "I know! She's keen on you though, Moony. You could…" he trailed off, leaving Remus plenty of room to fill in the blanks.

"I'll let her down easy," Remus supplied with a small frown. There were plenty of reasons to not like a girl, he assured himself. His friends wouldn't figure it out.

They both attempted, unsuccessfully, to wrangle a chocolate frog into a chocolate bath, and watched with unbridled laughter as the dripping amphibians hopped out of the fountain and across the Common Room to cause chaos. They were more successful in a new and terrifying game of dipped Every Flavor Beans, where the colors were now masked by chocolate. Even Remus, who had never gotten a bad bean unintentionally (he could smell the bad flavors), found himself with a grass-flavored chocolate bean and gagged.

Peter fell to his knees laughing, holding his sides. "You're -- _hahaha_ \-- you… you're... you're Moooooo-ny," he squealed, drawing out the long syllables of the nickname to mimic a cow.

Remus fell into the infectious laughter and helped Peter up just as James appeared with his I'm Up to Something look on his face. His cheeks were very pink and his hair was somehow even messier. "Lads?" He greeted and held out two too-full cups of the suspicious punch from the end tables. "Wash that lot down with a spot of punch, hey?" He winked deliberately and hopped back to the table to, presumably, procure more punch for their housemates.

Peter imbibed gleefully, but Remus took one whiff of the swirling crimson liquid and grimaced. Fruit punch and fire whiskey. Yuck. He sat his cup down but a pale hand picked it up almost immediately and pressed it back into his.

"Moony, you wound me."

Remus looked at Sirius, frowning faintly. He didn't _look_ wounded, a lipstick stain on the collar of his shirt and a self-assured smirk on his face.

"Might as well drink it straight," Remus defended and regretted it immediately. Sirius's face lit up like a beacon and he scrambled off, high-stepping his way past sprawled-out Gryffindors to their dorm. 

He returned a minute later with a shiny brass flask and slid it into Remus's pocket. The act was so Sirius but so… teasing, Remus's arms broke out in goosebumps, the fine hairs standing on end. 

"I know!" Sirius hissed at his ear, misreading his shiver. "I had Marlene knick an extra bottle from her folks, it's grand." 

Remus opened his mouth to protest but, like was typical when Sirius was high on attention and feeling himself, Sirius had wandered off and was wrangling his Trusted Few: James, Peter, Lily, Marlene, Mary (newly returned with a yellow velvet top), and him, of course, waved over. Remus took a sip from the flask, let the burn ground him, and joined the group.

"So! The Game!" Sirius announced in a conspiratorial whisper. James, Peter, and Marlene leaned in eagerly. Remus and the Girls with Any Sense traded looks of trepidation. If it was a Muggle game, it could be anything from Pass Out, Twister (he hoped with everything he had that it wasn't that; being tangled with Sirius was not going to end well) to--

"Poker! Hold 'Em, actually!" Sirius crowed, his eyes alight with what Remus knew to be mad conviction.

He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. Poker. He could do that. Safe, distant, he didn't have much money so he wouldn't have to play long, perf--

"And!" Sirius's voice interrupted his train of thought yet again. He waggled his brows and looked at each one of them in turn. "To make things interesting, and since it's the Most Holy of Days… we're playing Strip Poker!"

His heart plummeted to the pit of his stomach. What the hell was Sirius playing at? Then again, Remus had been so very careful not to reveal any more skin than strictly necessary to his friends. They knew his forearms were a bit beaten up, his hands were a mess, and he _thought_ Sirius had seen his calves once last May, but he realized none of them knew Everything.

He'd been fortunate enough to not have done any lasting damage to his face (yet), and he kept every other bit of himself under wraps as much as possible, suffering through hot weather in his full uniform, sleeping in a traditional kit of flannel. No one knew the extent of damage he'd done to himself, the silver network of scars that crossed his torso and would absolutely give him away.

Desperate, Remus looked to Lily, his fellow Prefect who would definitely put an end to the madness. 

Or would have, if she wasn't on her second cup of 'Just Punch, Evans, I Swear'. She'd literally let her hair down and had loosened her tie just a skosh. "Alright then," the Traitor Lily agreed, to the raucous approval of the others.

Remus frowned and tried desperately to find a way out of this. He took another sip from the flask, for inspiration. 

Sirius appeared in his field of vision, warm and bubbly and smelling strongly of the Just Punch. He invaded Remus's personal space without question (he did that a _lot_ lately, ever since their Big Fight) and draped his wrists over his bony shoulders dramatically.

"You're not thinking of ditching me on my _birthday_ , are you, Moony?" He breathed, far too close for Remus's comfort. He felt his breath on his cheek and the second Very Big Reason for not wanting to play Strip Poker arose. He'd be in a room full of people with a potentially very naked Sirius Black. 

' _Merlin's nuts,_ ' he thought to himself dismally. On his own was one thing and sure, he'd seen Sirius's bare chest more times than he could count, had seen all the way up to his knees, and _maybe_ once in third year saw his bare ass as he skinny dipped into the lake, but this would be _different_.

"Moony?" Sirius's voice was in his ear now and Remus's knees threatened to give out. "I'll go easy on you. Let's gang up on the girls, it'll be fun!" he assured him with his roguish smile. Remus swore he felt the brush of his lips on the shell of his ear, but refused to dwell. 

He swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded dumbly. "Yeah, alright," he murmured. He'd have to play this smart. No way out, so he'd need to outplay the others. 

They agreed the best place for this Event was the boys' dorm, since the girls and James, surprisingly, were wildly against the idea of public stripping. It calmed Remus a little to be around familiar items and to know that if things went Very Badly, he'd at least be limiting the number of people he'd have to Obliviate (he'd look up that spell) if they connected the dots… or werewolf-inflicted body mutilation, as it were.

The seven of them settled in a circle and Sirius produced a deck of scarlet-backed cards from his pocket. He shuffled them with a whispered spell, the cards dramatically reorganizing themselves over and over until they returned neatly stacked to his hand. James and Marlene clapped their approval. 

Sirius ran them through the rules and Mary helpfully scribed the finer points in the air above them in magical silver script. They'd be given two cards to keep secret and have the option to fold immediately, or place their bet. The dealer (Sirius, this round) would then place three cards face-up in the center. They would be given a second chance to fold, call the bet, or raise. A fourth card would be revealed and the third chance would arrive. Finally, the fifth card would be shown and their final chance to bet would happen. 

"Pretty simple," Sirius assured with a wolfish smile. Peter looked nervous. Lily had wild determination on her face, powered by liquid courage, and Remus felt sick. He took another drink from his flask.

"Oh!! So if you lose the round, you have to take off a piece of clothing. That's the rules. We'll bet money, here," Sirius passed them each a sack that contained 5 galleons, 20 sickles, and 40 knuts. Not much individually, but a substantial sum when distributed to seven people. "If you run out of money, you can bet clothes or… hmm. Drinks. Or favors." He winked openly at Marlene, who giggled. 

The terms seemed agreeable enough and the game began. Remus looked at his cards. A Jack of Hearts and a Jack of Spades. Promising. He kept his face even, and called James's initial ridiculous bet of 1 galleon. Everyone else called. 

The three cards appeared. 8 of Hearts. 3 of Clubs. Jack of Diamonds. Remus called again, James hiking the bet to 2 galleons. "Potter coming in hot!" Sirius proclaimed. Fortunately for Remus, everyone but Peter called.

The fourth card was an Ace of Clubs. Everyone held. The fifth card revealed the Queen of Hearts. Lily raised by 5 knuts. Everyone called. 

Remus's heart pounded in his chest as one by one the hands were displayed. James had literally nothing. Lily had two Queens, Mary had two 3s and Marlene had two Jacks. Grinning widely, Remus showed his hand of 3 Jacks and kept his clothes on, reaped his tidy sum, and reminded himself to pay Sirius back whatever was left over.

James made a big show of kicking off both shoes and socks despite Sirius telling him that just one set would do. The girls each took off their shoes. Mary looked nervous, she who only wore a pleated skirt, socks, and that new velvet top. Marlene was in a corduroy dress, but at least had a shirt underneath, stockings, a sweater, and her shoes. Lily was most prepared in her uniform, like Remus. 

The dealer moved to James, who let Sirius shuffle the deck again because it was just so cool. Only Sirius and Remus were left in that round, Remus hoping to win with a straight, or he'd have nothing, and the pot holding a handful of sickles. He watched Sirius closely as James flipped the final card. Sirius tossed his hair just slightly, the barest flick of his head to get the hair out of his eyes, only it hadn't been in his eyes. Hm. Remus looked at the cards and rejoiced silently. 

Sirius revealed his hand. 10 card high, which fell to Remus's straight. Sirius laughed and uncrossed his legs like he was going to remove his shoes, but instead unbuttoned his shirt. Remus swallowed thickly, watching his thin fingers ghost over each pearly button. He heard Marlene and Mary's breath quicken and averted his gaze suddenly as Sirius's pale flesh emerged from beneath the cotton shirt. 

He left his tie on, the maniac, and tossed his abandoned shirt across the room to land on his bed. "Fortune favors the bold, mates," he said with another laugh. The way his adam's apple bobbed when he threw his head back was not lost on Remus, who found it very difficult to focus on the third hand under Peter's deal. 

Remus lost three sickles and a shoe. "You cannot put on both shoes at the same time, therefore you can't claim them both as a singular item of clothing," he insisted firmly when James, missing his belt, protested. 

"Don't he such a jessieeee," Peter whined, as he'd already lost both shoes and was panicking. He hadn't worn a belt. Or a tie. And inexplicably only had on one sock? 

"I'm _not_ ," Remus replied hotly, a little harder than he'd meant. He needed to slow down on the firewhiskey and find something else to look at besides Sirius's chest. But he was sitting across from him and it was _there_. 

It was Remus's turn to deal and for his efforts, Peter lost his single sock, James remained clothed (shockingly), Lily's tie came off, and Mary and Marlene both were now in their bare feet. Remus was glad the girls had the sense to bathe before the party, as they smelled of lavender and lilacs, but Peter and James smelled of teenage boy, harsh, acrid, sweaty. The girls didn't seem to mind, so Remus chose not to draw attention to it.

Lily was dealer next and somehow, Remus scraped by on a pair of sixes. Sirius lost in the final hour, flipping his hair again, and removed one shoe and one sock. "Keep 'em guessing!" he'd said slyly, winking at Remus. James's vest joined his rapidly growing pile of clothing and Remus noticed Lily, sockless as well, averting her gaze more often than not. Interesting… 

Certainly over the summer, the four of them had grown a lot. Fourth year ended with them all a little too skinny (even Peter but especially Remus) and still with cracking voices, but the summer filled them out. Sirius and James looked more like men than boys and Peter's shoulders had filled out. He'd put on weight, but it wasn't as uneven as it had been when they were just kids. Their voices now boomed more than squeaked and Remus definitely couldn't fault anyone for looking at that side of the room. 

He, on the other hand, was still too skinny, stupidly tall, gangly, and all bones and jutting angles. His shoulders were broader, sure, but he hadn't managed to put on a single pound over the summer. His mother was a good cook, but… fact of the matter was, feeding a teenage boy was expensive. Feeding a teenage werewolf was _impossible_. 

Mary dealt next and Remus, wrapped up in his own musings and the other more liberal swig of alcohol, lost his other shoe. Sirius fanned himself with his cards, his practiced pureblood lordling look fixed on his face as he appraised Remus. "Oh come on, Moony! It's sweltering in here, don't you think?" 

It was warm. Suspiciously warm. James fidgeted when he looked at him. That bastard. Remus could throttle him. The girls were fanning themselves now, too. They'd been much more conservative in their bets, though Marlene was missing her sweater. Sirius's chest had little beads of sweat on it and Remus had a sudden urge to lick it off. 

' _This is not good.'_

After removing his remaining shoe and sock, Sirius rolled up the legs of his jeans and stretched his legs across their playing field so that his bare feet, crossed at the ankles, rested on Remus's knee. He grinned at Remus. Wiggled his toes.

They were nice toes.

"Oh thank Christ," Marlene whispered as she realized it was her turn to deal. Distracted by the infuriatingly wiggling toes, Remus missed Sirius's tell and fell for his stupid bluff. He lost four galleons (four!) and his right sock. He conceded his left sock when James, in a shocking display of half-drunken coordination, showed them that you _could_ in fact get both socks on without magic. 

Remus tucked his feet under him. The girls didn't need to see the crosshatch of scars. His trousers were too short, besides, and only his socks had kept his ankles hidden. His right ankle was a mess. 

Sirius was well and truly on his way to drunk. He fixed Remus with a look that Remus thought he'd seen somewhere before, but couldn't place it. Heartbeats all around him were pounding as layers of flesh were revealed one by one. Everyone was sweating. Lily tied her hair back up and Remus longed for a hair band of his own. The Marauders had all Solemnly Swore to not cut their hair until the end of term, and while it was very much In Fashion, it was fucking _hot_. 

Mary and Marlene announced they needed a break as the deal came back round to Sirius. After promising they weren't going to sneak off to put on secret layers of clothing, the group agreed to take five. Everyone stood except for Remus and Sirius, the latter staring at him openly. 

"What?" Remus asked, exasperated.

Sirius's brow furrowed and he lost his ever-present smirk. "You alright?" He asked, words a little slushy but soft and genuine. 

"Just…"

"Nervous 'bout Mary seeing you?" Sirius suggested, filling in the blanks.

Remus blushed, which of course Sirius took for a yes. He flung himself across the circle and rolled until he was on his back in front of Remus. With his dark hair spilled across the carpet and his chest glittering with sweat, his cheeks flushed with drink, Remus thought he looked rather like a Renaissance painting of an angel. ' _Well if you ever questioned you were gay before, Lupin,'_ he chided himself mentally, banishing the thought. 

But Sirius was smiling at him and he reached up to brush an errant sandy curl from Remus's face tenderly. "She really likes you. She knows you're a stick but I think she _fancies_ sticks, Moonlove Moonpie," he assured, but left his hand in his hair. 

He nodded in a way he hoped was conceding and with the greatest willpower known to man, brushed Sirius's hand away. His skin was like fire. "Thanks, Sirius," he murmured, forcing a grin. 

"All part of the package, Moonage Daydream," Sirius said and began humming (badly) the rest of the song. He rolled to his side and hopped up, muscles rippling under his skin. 

The girls were back, and James and Peter newly returned with refreshments. Remus was glad for the distraction, something to do with his mouth other than imagine it on Sirius's abs. He tossed a handful of pretzels into his mouth to the amazement of Marlene.

"How can you _possibly_ be hungry? I saw you eat four chops at dinner, plus all that chocolate! Where does it go? You're so thin!!" From another girl, it might've been cruel, but while Remus was embarrassed, he was used to this by now. Marlene had developed very womanly curves over the summer, and he noticed her eating carefully at meals. 

James attempted to intervene, ever the pal. "Let'sss not pick on Remm--oose here, okay?" Oh he was drunk as a skunk. "He's got a meta… metallurgy…"

"Metabolism," Lily supplied sardonically, unimpressed.

"Thassit! He's got one of those!"

"Everyone has one of those," Peter corrected, erupting into a fit of giggles. Also drunk. 

Remus made a show of huffing and crossed his arms over his chest. "Just lucky I guess, would kill to put on a few pounds. Can we get on with the game, please?" He looked at Sirius expectantly. 

If he hadn't been a werewolf, he would've missed Mary's soft, almost inaudible "think you're just perfect", but since he wasn't supposed to be a werewolf, he powered through.

Remus won the round but gained little by way of money, a few knuts. Lily was stuck trying to decide between her skirt or her blouse. Mary bravely tossed her velvet blouse away, revealing a modest chest and a lacy white bra. She glanced at Remus from beneath her lashes, nervously. Remus looked away. 

Lily went with her blouse as well, a no-nonsense but nonetheless fine white bra below. James made a strangled sound that they all teased him about, suggesting he find himself a pillow to hide his shame. 

Peter's shirt came away with little fanfare, save for a wolf-whistle by Sirius, who looked like he was thoroughly enjoying himself. James and Marlene had folded earlier, still mostly clothed.

James's deal lost Marlene the shirt under her dress, which she fished out with surprising ease (girls were amazing). Her dress mostly covered her front, but she kept sneaking looks at Sirius. 

Nearly everyone folded on Peter's deal and Sirius frowned. "Oh dear, his lordship is upset," Remus teased, seeing the storm brew.

"Everyone drink!" The king decreed.

James whooped and snatched the flask from Remus's hand without thinking, taking a deep swig. Panic cleared Remus's mind and he stared slack-jawed at James who had just exchanged saliva with a known werewolf. What if he had cuts in his mouth? What would that do to him??? He seemed keen to keep the flask, cradling it against his chest like a valued treasure. 

"Here, Remus, you can have a drink of my punch," Mary offered, interrupting his panic attack with a new one. She leaned across Lily towards him, her breasts on clear display, much to Peter's apparent excitement, judging by his breath sounds. 

Sirius scoffed and pushed her back gently, handing a bottle of cider to Remus from behind him. "None of that swill! Only the best for the Moonage Daydream," he insisted with a bark of a laugh. Mary sat back with a pout and Remus gratefully twisted the top off (Lily's amazed comment of how he could do so bare-handed was lost in the noise of Peter's disastrous attempt at shuffling cards the Muggle way) and took a long drag from the cool, crisp, cider. 

So much better than fire whiskey. It settled in his belly like a warm kitten, though the purr he heard might well have been his own him of happiness. "Been holding out, Black," he cajoled as he peeked at his cards. 

Sirius's eyes twinkled at him. "Speak for yourself, Mister My-Clothes-Are-On. How are you even so good at this game?" He gasped. "Is your mum a professional poker player? I heard that's a thing Muggles can be!!" 

His excitement was palpable, but Remus shook his head, laughing. "My mum's just a mum. Paints sometimes. Sells a few, I guess. You're just really terrible at this game."

Sirius brought his hand to his forehead in feigned (possibly) dramatics. "You wound me again, Moony, you absolute cur." He flopped dramatically to rest his head in James's lap, much to the visible consternation of one Marlene McKinnon. 

James was the out-and-out loser of Remus's second deal and foolishly removed both shirt and tie in a fit of frustration with "the blasted thing". Remus felt Lily stiffen a little next to him and again couldn't blame her. James had really filled out over the summer, running himself ragged with Quidditch drills. He was _fit_. 

Lily dealt and Remus lost his belt. This was getting bad. Sirius made a horrifically wonderful and terrible show of sliding his tie off from around his neck, the whisper of the silk like an ilicit promise. Remus couldn't watch. 

Mary's deal earned Remus a good sum of money from James, who was now Completely Broke, and running out of clothes. He took a needlessly long drink from the purloined flask, stood up, and shucked off his trousers in a move Remus was sure he'd practiced before. James Potter was left in his teenage glory in a pair of dark gray briefs that really didn't leave much to the imagination. 

"Looking fit, Potter," Marlene called with a low whistle. James blushed but smiled his thousand-watt smile, flexing his muscles. 

Marlene dealt and Remus squeaked victory with literally a bluff. Everyone else had folded. 

Sirius ordered them all to drink again, claiming sobriety made them _weak_ , and Mary and Marlene had to hold each other up. Lily had slumped a little against Remus's shoulder, much to James's chagrin, he who was trying to glare daggers at Remus and kept plinking him with bits of pretzel from the other side. 

Sirius dealt and Remus lost his tie. He was left with his shirt, trousers, vest, and briefs. He tried folding during James's deal, but Sirius caught on to his game quickly.

"Don't be such a girrrrllll, Mooooooony," he sang, throwing another bottle of cider at him. It was still too hot in their dorm so Remus drank it down greedily, to Sirius's cheers. 

He played aggressively from there and, shockingly, fared well. Right up until Mary's deal. Sirius lost his belt. Remus lost his mind. 

He felt control slipping, and missed James's obvious drunken tell of a hastily-sucked-in breath. Remus's vest joined the pile of clothing. He was much cooler but definitely starting to worry. 

He doubled down again and survived each round leading up to his deal. Sirius looked him right in the eye when he lost to Lily's straight flush as he stood up to take off his trousers. He didn't do it with nearly as much fanfare, and Remus was sure he didn't know _why_ Sirius was looking at _him_ and not Marlene or Mary, but he felt his face get hot and knew he was blushing. 

He couldn't look away. He'd be mad to. Sirius's legs were a work of art, his crimson briefs a fine compliment to his pale complexion. Soft dark hair covered his lower legs but his thighs, _Merlin his thighs_ , were mostly hairless, or so finely covered he couldn't see from across the circle. 

He heard Sirius's heartbeat louder than anyone else's. James had passed out against Peter's chest, and Peter was snoring softly. The girls had regrouped and slept in a veritable pile and it was just them, suddenly, virtually alone. 

Sirius was _nervous_. Remus heard his breath quicken as he kicked his trousers off and stood, unnaturally stiff in his movements. He wrenched his eyes away from his inspection of his calves, his perfect calves, and forced himself to look at Sirius's face. 

His teeth trapped his bottom lip and his face was sweaty and pink, his usually flawless hair a damp mass against his neck. Sirius had that weird look on his face again, the one Remus now placed as during their Big Fight, the one that had bothered him for a while, and he puzzled over it now. 

They locked eyes and Sirius looked like he wanted to say something, his jaw clenching and unclenching rapidly. James snored suddenly, loudly, and Mary popped up from the puddle of girl to run to their bathroom to be sick.

The boys looked away from each other and Sirius chuckled faintly. He rescued his tie and looped it around his neck. 

"Good birthday?" Remus asked timidly, afraid of whatever it was Sirius was going to say. 

Sirius smiled ear to ear and leaned against one of the pillars of his bed. "The best yet. Thanks, Moony." 

Remus busied himself with rousing the girls and helping them sort out their articles of clothing before sending them on their way to their dorm. When he returned from the Common Room, Sirius was curled up on his bed in his underwear and sloppily tied Gryffindor tie. 

Remus threw a blanket over the lumps that were James and Peter and covered Sirius in one as well. With everyone asleep, Remus pulled off his shirt to change into his pyjamas, freezing when he heard a sharp intake of breath behind him.

"Moony…" Sirius sounded sad, distant.

Remus sighed heavily and turned to face him, letting Sirius see the carnage that was his chest. On his left hip, peeking over his slacks, was pink, puffy, raised bite mark that had stretched with age and growth but still covered nearly half his width. Silvered gashes ran down his chest and curled around his ribs in a mockery of a caress. There was a jagged one he'd gotten last winter that bisected him from his right collarbone diagonal to his sternum and then back to his right hip. It was starting to silver finally after nearly a year of looking like an angry weal. 

There were more, of course, too many to name. All self-inflicted and nightmarish, a constant reminder when he looked in the mirror that he was _not_ normal. 

Sirius's fingertips brushed one of his oldest scars, a gouge in his shoulder, with something akin to reverence. "Who did this to you? Your dad?" Guarded suspicion crept into Sirius's face, remembering Remus's stories of Lyall's attempts to cure him. 

"No," Remus replied patiently. He wanted to put his shirt on now, but he could see Sirius processing this, could see his eyes flit back and forth over his chest. 

"... You did this. To yourself." Realization dawned like daybreak, slow and tremendous, and Sirius placed his hand flat-palmed over Remus's heart. It felt like a galloping horse in his chest, threatening to leap out through his mouth and he was sure Sirius could feel it, too. 

Remus nodded, wordless. Sirius looked like he was going to hug him, and he really couldn't handle that, half-drunk and half-naked and Sirius sobering up with sobering facts and nearly naked, so he hurriedly slid his arms into his flannels and did up the buttons. Sirius's hand fell useless to his side. 

"Are there more?" Sirius had curled himself up in his duvet now, just a harmless head popping out from the down. He sounded small, hesitant, almost like he didn't want to know the answer.

"Of course, but… I'm not ready to share them just yet, if that's alright." His voice was tight, strained, and he hoped Sirius would drop it.

Fortunately, he did, with a gentle, sleepy nod. "Of course," he parroted. "I'm here if you're ever ready. I'm always here." 

He turned over to let Remus change into the bottoms in privacy, and only stirred when Remus was in bed, lights off and the curtains half-drawn. He cleared his throat. "Thanks, Sirius. Sorry your birthday ended so...morose."

Sirius shook his head vehemently, a burst of energy Remus hadn't expected him to supply. "It's a gift I didn't know I wanted, Moony. I like learning your secrets." He flashed him a small smile before twitching his curtains shut, and Remus fell back on his pillow, wide awake.

He had a lot to think about.


End file.
